


No Place I'd Rather Be

by Ash_Okumura



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Crack, Drinking, F/F, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Idiots in Love, JJ makes a brief appearance, M/M, Magicians are horny apparently, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Dumbasses, Party, Pole Dancing, Song: Body (Megan Thee Stallion), Song: Boss Bitch (Doja Cat), Song: MIC Drop (BTS), Watching the Sunrise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29768931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash_Okumura/pseuds/Ash_Okumura
Summary: It's Katsuki Yuuri and Victor Nikiforov's engagement anniversary party, and though Yuuri doesn't expect to spend it pole dancing, placing bizarre bets, and helping two idiots get together, is he really surprised by this point? And maybe... just maybe... he'll have the time of his life.
Relationships: Katsuki Mari/Okukawa Minako, Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Leo de la Iglesia/Ji Guang-Hong, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nishigori Takeshi/Nishigori Yuuko, Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky, Phichit Chulanont/Lee Seung Gil
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	No Place I'd Rather Be

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Insert_Mild_Screeching](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insert_Mild_Screeching/gifts).



> This is my first time posting and my first real fic so I’m praying it doesn’t completely suck. Anywaysss enjoy this totally self-indulgent mess that I technically wrote as a gift for my sister :)
> 
> Oh! And I suggest listening to the songs (they're tagged) as you read the parts with the dancing, since it makes it more fun

“Hurry up! We’re gonna be late, Beka!” Yurio calls over his shoulder, stomping to a stop in front of the car door open to the passenger’s seat. Otabek reaches the car a few moments later and slides gracefully behind the steering wheel.

“You seem excited,” he says in his usual monotone voice, as if simply stating a fact. The car starts with a low rumble of the engine.

Yurio flushes and crosses his arms sullenly before huffing, “Of course I’m not excited, idiot! Why would I want to see those fools when all they’re gonna be is all lovey dovey and disgusting!? They act like my parents and I hate it.” Yurio spins his head around and glares out the window as Otabek pulls out of the driveway.

“You don’t hate it, Yura. Be honest, you love it.”

“I’m ignoring you,” Yurio replies in an evidently contradictory manner.

Otabek side eyes him. “Then why did you answer me?”

“Shut up!” Yurio yells, turning around so he can glare at the man sitting next to him instead of the innocent trees lining the highway road.

The side of Otabek’s mouth quirks the tiniest bit upwards before he turns his focus back to the road in front of him. “What are you smiling for?” Yurio grumbles, placing a hand over Otabek’s mouth and ignoring the weird thump in his chest at Otabek’s rare smile. He must be excited his friend is showing a bit of emotion, that’s all, although he wouldn’t even admit to that, because why would he ever be _excited_ over someone as dumb as Otabek? Regardless, better to cover the smile and not have to deal with it at all.

Since Otabek is unable to respond in any dignified manner, he simply flicks his eyes to Yurio’s with raised eyebrows before continuing to focus on the road as if Yurio’s hand isn’t still over his face. It’s harder to pay attention to the road than he’d like, and Otabek hopes Yurio moves his hand before he ends up crashing the car. Then they’ll _really_ be late.

Yurio snatches his hand away after a quiet moment, blushing and turning back to the window. Before long the rumbling of the car down the highway road lulls him to sleep, and Yurio is snoring against the car door. Otabek glances at his sleeping face, allowing himself a full smile before resolving to truly focus on the drive. _This weekend is about Victor and Yuuri_ , Otabek reminds himself sharply, _not you and Yura and whatever… thing… is going on between you_.

And before he knows it they’re pulling into a parking space in front of a giant house. Although, “giant house” doesn’t really cut it. It’s more of a mansion, really. But it still manages to be quaint and charming, not overwhelming or flashy, which is a relief. Otabek thinks he spies a pool--which he’s sure will end up being a disaster at some point--and trees spread out from a freshly cut lawn. The air smells clean and cool, and Otabek turns to wake Yurio.

“Hey,” he says softly, gently shaking his shoulder. He feels an odd sadness at having to wake him, but he’s looking forward to seeing Yurio struggle not to look excited at the scene in front of him. Yurio grumbles in his sleep--is he always angry?--before slowly opening his eyes.

After a few seconds he seems to truly wake up, and when he looks out the window Otabek can practically see a wagging tail. “It’s… big,” is all Yurio says, turned with his back to Otabek in order to better face the house before them.

“Very observant,” Otabek intones, which leads to Yurio turning and playfully smacking him on the arm.

“Let’s get going, Beka!”

Otabek smiles at his tone and turns off the car, stepping out and stretching before making to grab their bags. The fact that Yurio’s not managing to even _pretend_ to simply stare at his phone with headphones in is saying something. Maybe this weekend really will be interesting.

“Yurio! Otabek!” Victor sing-songs, dramatically running to them with arms outstretched. Yurio’s trademark scowl falls quickly into place as he glares at Victor.

“What are you trying to do, huh old man? Hug me?” he demands, pushing Victor away and keeping him at arm’s length as he attempts to wrap Yurio in a big embrace.

“Old man!” Victor gasps, outraged. “This is _my_ weekend so you can--”

“ _Your_ weekend?” An amused voice questions dangerously from somewhere behind Victor.

Victor pales, before desperately waving his hands in front of him. He spins around to face his fiancé and falls on his knees, curling his hands together as if he’s praying. “I’m sorry, Yuuri. You know I didn’t mean that. Of course this is _our_ weekend, Yurio just got me annoyed, so--”

Yuuri smiles with his eyes closed and pats Victor on the head, completely unaffected by Victor’s frantic rambling. “I know, I know, don’t worry Vitya. I’m just teasing you.”

Victor gets to his feet with swimming puppy dog eyes before launching himself into Yuuri’s arms. “Yuurrriiii~” he cries, “don’t tease me like that! I’m sensitive!”

Yuuri laughs and pats Victor on the back before saying, “I still haven’t properly said hello, let me go.”

Victor releases him and steps back with a dejected expression, before brightening with Yuuri sends him a quick winning smile.

“Yurio, Otabek, how are you? It’s been too long!” Yuuri says, glancing between them.

“Whatever, fine,” Yurio replies, gazing determinedly to the side, though the corners of his mouth are slightly upturned.

“He means good. And that he missed you too,” Otabek clarifies, though Yuuri and Victor are already well aware of this fact.

Yurio turns a furious shade of red, glaring at Otabek before turning to Yuuri and saying, “I do not!”

But when Yuuri steps forward and wraps him in a hug, a shocked Yurio goes completely still and doesn’t try to push him away. Victor jumps at his moment of hesitation and embraces both the Yuris in one big group hug, nuzzling into his fiancé’s hair with a content smile while Otabek looks on, amused.

“It’s so nice to have you back with us,” Yuuri murmurs, and after a few more seconds Yurio seems to remember he has a reputation to uphold.

“Hey! Get off me!” he scolds, making a face like he’s about to puke.

“Sorry, sorry,” Yuuri says, stepping back. “Let us take your bags and we’ll give you a tour. It’s quite a house!”

“More of a mansion, honestly. It’s impressive.” Otabek says, craning his neck to look at the tall roof.

“Thank you,” Yuuri responds. “We’re renting it out for the weekend, naturally, but some part of me wants to stay here forever.”

Victor whips his head around to stare holes into the side of Yuuri’s. “You would? Want to live here? Because I can buy it for you, and we can move in!”

Yuuri rubs the back of his neck as he laughs. “No, I’m okay, thank you, Vitya. I really like our apartment. It’s so cozy, and it has a surprisingly good kitchen.”

Victor gives him a faux-frown, though he looks pleased. “Not mentioning the bedroom, Yuuri~?”

Now it’s Yuuri’s turn to flush, and he glances away. “Ew,” Yurio gags, clutching his stomach. “I see you guys are as gross as ever.”

“Don’t be jealous, Yurio!” Victor reprimands, wagging a finger at him. “You have your lovely boyfriend here now, so you can stop pretending to be annoyed by--”

“VICTOR!” Yurio shouts, hands clenching into embarrassed fists by his sides. “That’s not--we’re--it’s not like--ugh!” Yurio stumbles, in a rare display of an inability to argue, casting his eyes to the side to avoid eye contact with any of them. While to the others Otabek seems as stoic as ever, his heart is thumping wildly. Did Yurio talk to Victor about… _liking_ Otabek? Does Victor see something about Yurio that Otabek is missing? Or… did Victor just assume offhandedly? With an internal sigh, Otabek realizes that he’s letting his feelings get in the way of rational thought. Obviously Yurio could never like him. He’s… _Yurio_ and Otabek is… Otabek. He’d long ago resigned himself to the fact that Yurio will never love him as anything more than a friend. And he’s okay with that because he treasures their friendship too much to risk losing it. He’s lucky enough as is, even if it’s painful knowing that he could spend the rest of his life hopelessly in love with Yurio.

He’s snapped back to the present when Victor replies, “All right, all right, no need to get your panties in a twist. I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of Otabek, I know you have a reputat--”

“Stop talking,” Yurio growls, before marching a little ways ahead of them.

Victor casts a baffled glance to Yuuri, who’s watching everything unfold with curious eyes. “I’m confused, love,” Victor whispers, though not particularly quietly. “I know he’s touchy but… Are they not dating?”

Yuuri giggles behind his hand. “No, they’re not, I guess. Don’t worry, I thought the same thing.”

“But… they want to be. So why don’t they?” Otabek tries to keep his facial expressions under control and pretend like he can’t hear them.

“Not everyone has your wonderful confidence. Besides, it was…” Yuuri flushes. “It was pretty obvious that I loved you so you didn’t have much to worry about when telling me how you felt. Not all relationships are like that. Theirs especially, since they’re both pretty hard to read.”

But Victor had stopped listening after his second sentence. “Obvious?!” he cries, gaping at his fiancé.

“What, the posters didn’t give you a hint?” Yuuri jokes.

Victor stares at him. “You ignored me when I asked if you wanted a picture! You said Katsudon was your eros while I was right there! You acted like you had no idea who I was and like I was an inconvenience! You rejected me when I asked if we could sleep together!”

Yuuri smirks at him. “I _didn’t_ know who you really were, and you showed up at my house butt-naked. Of course I acted weirdly. Especially when you were asking to _sleep together_.”

Victor pouts. “Yuuriiii, you broke my heart. I was so sad, I thought you hated me!” And even though Victor said it in a joking tone of voice, Yuuri softens, walking closer to him and bumping his shoulder before grabbing his hand.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know how to act. I knew you as an Olympic gold medalist, not as Vitya. But it doesn’t matter anymore, right? ‘Cause you know now that I love you very much and we’re about to celebrate the one year anniversary of our engagement.”

Victor visibly brightens, and Yuuri can practically see the sparkles and flowers dancing in the air around him. “Yeah! You’re right as always, my love,” he tells him, before lifting their joined hands and pressing a kiss to the back of Yuuri’s.

Otabek sees now why Yurio always makes such a big deal out of their touchy feely relationship, though he doesn’t think Yura has the same reason. It’s a bit hard to watch two people so in love when you know you can never have that. Not that he’s not happy for them, and not that they’re not adorable. It would be much worse for them to stop acting like this all together than for Otabek to feel a little down. But he sees the possibility of himself and Yurio in them, and knowing that will never come to fruition makes his throat feel a bit tight.

“Yurio’s walking ahead like _he’s_ planning to give the tour. You want to go take over?” Yuuri points out, tilting his head.

Victor nods and releases Yuuri’s hand, jogging forwards. Though Yuuri can’t hear them, he sees Victor dance around Yurio, who appears to be shouting. Instead of hurrying to catch up, Yuuri slows down, falling into step with Otabek. “Are you okay?” he asks softly.

Otabek looks at him in surprise. Was he able to tell he was upset? It’s unlikely… but not impossible. “Yes, of course,” he replies.

Yuuri nods. “Okay, good. I just--I hope you know that Victor wasn’t trying to be obnoxious with everything he was saying before. I know you could hear us. I know… I know it’s hard. I was there too. It will work out, don’t worry. These things have a way of falling into place whether we mean for them to or not.”

For a second, Otabek simply stares, before saying, “I don’t quite know what you mean,” far too late for it to be any semblance of convincing.

Yuuri smiles kindly at him. “Right, sorry. Let’s catch up to the others so we can hear Victor rant overenthusiastically about the lighting fixtures of the house.”

“Lovely,” Otabek says, speeding up.

***

“Victor~, I am here!” Chris calls loudly, throwing open the door.

“Chris,” Victor nods, stepping from the living room into the brightly lit foyer.

“This is _quite_ a house. The things we do for love, eh?”

Victor laughs, giving his friend a hug. “Don’t tell Yuuri, but this house is as much for me as it is for him.” Victor pauses, thinking. “Actually, maybe it’s even more for me than for him. Have you _seen_ the light fixtures? You’d be obsessed too.”

“You’re not quiet!” Yuuri calls from the other room, and Victor blanches.

“He didn’t really hear me right?” Victor whispers to Chris, looking around nervously.

“Contrary to what you believe, Yuuri isn’t going to divorce you the second you say one selfish th—"

“I can really hear you!” Yuuri replies to Victor, accidentally cutting Chris off.

“Eek!” Victor cries, jumping behind Chris as if using him as a human shield.

“Welcome! The others are all in the dining room if you want to go say hello.” Yuuri says to Chris, walking into the room while waving in a friendly manner.

“The others?” Chris asks curiously.

“Yurio, Otabek, Minami, Minako, Mari, Yuuko, Takeshi, Mila, Guang Hong, Emil, Michele, Sara, and Leo,” Yuuri lists, ticking off the names on his fingers and staring at the ceiling in concentration. “We’re only missing Phichit and Seung-gil.”

“Your best friend is late to your--” but before Chris can finish, a loud knock sounds at the door. If there was ever a time where knocks could somehow sound cheerful, this was it.

“That will be him!” Yuuri cries excitedly, rushing to the door and pulling it open.

“Hello!” Phichit yells, opening his arms wide before tightly hugging Yuuri. “I’ve missed you!”

“I’ve missed you too,” Yuuri gasps, strangled by the tightness of the hug. “I can’t breat--”

“Look who I brought!” Phichit cries, finally stepping away and gesturing to Seung-gil as Yuuri takes big gulps of oxygen. Seung-gil looks as impassive as ever as he stands about a foot away from Phichit.

“Oh! Good to see you,” Yuuri says, the gears already turning in his head. Were Phichit and Seung-gil close? Or did they just happen to run into each other on the way over? “Um,” he says after a pause, “everyone’s here now! Should we head into the other room and start eating?”

“Yes!” Phichit says, clapping his hands together. “Aren’t you excited Seung-gil?”

“Very,” he says, his facial muscles barely moving. Yuuri doesn’t know if he’s being sarcastic or not. He chooses to be optimistic--though that is far from his specialty--and believe that Seung-gil is, in fact, genuinely excited.

“Yuuri, please tell me this party has a stripper pole,” Chris says casually as they walk into the dining room.

“What?! No!”

Chris pouts. “But you know it’s not a real party until there’s a stripper pole. And don’t you want to rehash old times?”

Yuuri stares at him before saying, “Chris, I’m not even drinking tonight. I’ve learned my lesson.”

Chris gasps and actually jumps backwards a few feet. _No wonder he and Victor are friends, they both have being overdramatic down to an art_ , Yuuri thinks half amused and half annoyed. “This was all a set up for me to tell you that I brought a stripper pole. But--but--but then you go and break my heart and crush my dreams by telling me you’re _not drinking_?!”

Yuuri stares even harder. “How. In the world. Did you bring. A stripper pole. To my engagement party.”

Chris winks. “A magician never gives away his secrets.”

“You’re not a magician, you're just _horny_.”

Chris shrugs. “Same thing?” he says hopefully.

“No,” Yuuri replies flatley. “Not even close, Chris.”

“Aw, you’re no fun! Victor!” Chris calls, turning slightly away from Yuuri. “Can you pl _ease_ tell your fiancé to not say no to drinking tonight.”

Victor casts a nervous look at Yuuri, and Chris realizes they must have had this discussion before. It’s quite obvious from Victor’s darting eyes who won that spat. “Um… He can… do what he wants?” He sounds as if he’s asking Yuuri if he’s rehearsing the right lines for a play, though everyone knows that Victor does genuinely only want Yuuri to be happy.

Yuuri smiles, a mix of encouraging and proud for Victor and smug for Chris. “But _Victorrrr_!” Chris whines, sounding like a teen who was just told they weren’t allowed to go to a party.

“I’ve tried my hardest! You don’t think I didn’t already do everything I could?” Victor says quickly and quietly, as if that would stop Yuuri from hearing them when he’s only two feet away from the two. “What I wouldn’t give to see him dance on that pole again,” Victor sighs wistfully.

“Alright, alright you two. The drama show is over, it’s no big deal,” Yuuri tells them. During this conversation the three had inadvertently stopped walking towards the table, too set on having their discussion.

Chris and Victor’s mouths fall open in matching images of shock. “ _No big deal_?!” They both gasp, glancing in sync to each other before looking back at Yuuri.

“Shh, he doesn’t really know his own appeal,” Victor tells Chris, as if he hadn’t just said the exact same thing as him.

Chris raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Still? Haven’t you been working on this, Victor?”

Victor throws his hands up. “I’m doing everything I can!”

“Stop talking about me as if I’m not here!” Yuuri cries, shaking his head and resting his forehead in his hand. They’re gonna give him a headache if they don’t let up.

“I’m just going to let the night play out. Things may happen. I’m holding out hope,” Victor tells Chris, having ignored Yuuri’s request.

“Alright, I’m eating without you two. I need to make sure I sit between Phichit and Seung-gil so I can get away from this conversation.”

Victor’s eyes go watery as he stares at Yuuri. “I’m sorry,” he tells him, grabbing his hand. “It’s just that… that night was a lot of fun and… and you looked really good.”

Yuuri smiles at him and squeezes his hand. “Sorry, Vitya. No 16 flutes of champagne for me tonight.”

The three of them finally manage to make it to the dining room and take their seats. Despite what he said, Yuuri sits between Victor and Yurio, though Phichit and Seung-gil are on the other side of Otabek, who is sitting--naturally--adjacent to Yurio. “So the hosts finally arrive,” Yurio grumbles, rolling his eyes.

“You missed us, didn’t you?” Victor asks him, leaning around Yuuri to try and pat Yurio’s head. It doesn’t go well.

“Of course not, hag!” Yurio retorts, turning to Otabek to try and avoid further conversation with the older table members.

Victor sighs adoringly. “He loves us,” he tells Yuuri fondly. Yuuri laughs and nods while Yurio ignores the two of them.

The conversation comes to a momentary halt and is replaced with a chorus of oohs and aahs as the first course is served. “Wow!” Phichit practically sings, grinning as he takes a picture from above his plate. “Can’t _wait_ to post this!”

“I can’t wait to _eat_ this,” Chris says, already taking a big bite of the food on his plate.

“Yurio made these!” Yuuri exclaims proudly to the table, gesturing to the pierogies on everyone’s plates. Next to him, Yurio scoffs and bends his head till it’s practically in his food, but Yuuri suspects it’s just to hide his pleased blush.

“Delicious, Yura,” Otabek says, calmly but happily--Yuuri guesses, as there are only so many of Otabek’s emotions that he can distinguish--eating. At that, Yurio glances to the side, a faint blush training his cheeks.

“Really?” he asks uncharacteristically brightly.

Otabek turns towards him and gives him a small smile as he says, “Definitely. You must make these for me again some time.”

Yurio practically beams as he blush spreads to his ears, before quickly turning back to face his plate, staring intently at the food as if it had the secrets of the universe written on it.

Otabek studies him for a second longer, taking in his red ears and previously glowing smile before looking blankly at his own food. He had _blushed_. Yurio had just _blushed_. Was that just his response every time someone commented on his food? If so, Otabek would make sure to rave about his cooking whenever possible.

A few seats away, Chris is carefully studying the pair, before turning to Yuuri. “I have an idea,” he tells him in a low voice, leaning around Victor, and Yuuri groans.

“I’m not gonna like this, am I,” he mutters to himself, before saying in a clearer voice, “What’s your idea?”

Chris taps his chin with a smirk and lowers his voice even more. “Every time--starting now--that either Otabek or Yurio blush because of the other you have to drink a champagne flute. You don’t have to _chug_ it, but it has to be gone by the next time you have to drink. So if you _don’t_ drink it, and one of them blushes _again_ , _then_ you have to chug it. Maybe you’ll only have one drink all night, maybe none. Who knows?” Chris shrugs casually, but there’s a calculating glint in his eye.

“ _I_ know, Chris,” Yuuri says, exasperated. “These two will be blushing messes all night, there’s no way that’ll go well.”

“‘No way it’ll go well!’” Chris gasps. “What you’re talking about seems like an absolute win to me!”

“Yeah, to _you_ ,” Yuuri says blankly, before his expression suddenly morphs into one Chris can’t quite name. “Wait, wait. How about this. I will go along with your silly game,” at that, Chris looks like his about to explode from excitement and Victor stops in the middle of his conversation and spins to face Yuuri, “ _but_ if either of them confesses to the other before we leave this house you have to make an announcement of my choice to the group.”

Without a second thought, Chris nods enthusiastically. “You’ve got yourself a deal, Katsuki.” Yuuri grins before turning back to a different conversation. Yuuri has barely said one word before he abruptly spins back around to face Chris.

He narrows his eyes critically before hissing, “Are you plotting something?”

Chris puts his hand over his heart, leaning backwards as if hit. “Me?! I would _never_! What type of man do you take me for!”

Yuuri’s eyes narrow further and he leans forwards. “You better not interfere with Otabek and Yurio. Not only could it push them away from each other and make them more nervous to talk to each other about how they feel, but if _you_ say a bunch of embarrassing things and they’re constantly blushing I’m going to die of alcohol poisoning.”

Victor grabs his hand, tugging it towards his chest. “Don't say that, my love!”

Yuuri laughs as he shakes his head. “It’s a joke, but… it probably would be a rough night for me.” Victor frowns before slowly turning that frown on Chris.

“You know I want this as much as you do,” Victor starts to Chris, “but just be sensible is all.”

Chris smirks. “When am I not sensible?”

Victor groans and covers his face, mumbling, “You’re screwed, Yuuri,” from between his fingers.

Chris waits a second before saying, “No ‘and I’m the only one who can screw you joke’?”

Yuuri fully faceplants into the table, giving up, as Mari shouts, “Just what are you saying about my little brother over there?”

“Oh please,” Chris sighs, “like you wouldn’t make the same joke about Minako.” Yuuri pushes his face further into the table.

“Stop, Chris,” Victor hisses, “You’re killing him.”

Chris laughs and responds with, “To your earlier point, though, my guess is that there will be no need for interference on the Yurio Otabek front, don’t worry your pretty little heads,” before falling silent and then choosing instead to strike up a conversation with Minami, who is still excitedly glazing around the table like he can’t quite believe he’s here.

“ _What_ is going on over there?” Yurio asks Otabek, casting wary glares at Yuuri, Victor, and Chris.

Otabek shrugs, replying, “I don’t know, I was more focused on you,” without thinking. For a second, neither of them really move, before Yurio spins away, practically steaming, while Otabek stares straight ahead, putting all his focus into not spontaneously combusting. “I’m sorry, I meant our conversation,” Otabek says in the same tone of voice he always uses, while internally he dies a little bit. He really did not mean to say that.

“DRINK!” Chris suddenly shrieks, to which Yuuri sighs as he heaves himself off the table.

“If only they could just be a little less gay for one night,” Yuuri mutters to himself as Chris energetically shoves a champaign flute in his hands.

“Drink?” Yurio mutters, but he sounds distracted. “Is there some bet, dumbass?” he asks Yuuri, who is defeatedly sipping his drink. Yuuri just shakes his head, but Yurio can’t tell whether that’s a no or just a dejected, noncommittal response.

“Look, Yuuri!” Victor cries, grabbing his arm excitedly and pointing at the door where the next course is being brought in from. Yuuri visibly brightens, sitting up a bit straighter.

Steaming bowls of Katsudon are served to all members of the table, and the clicking of Phichit’s camera is a continuous background noise for a few moments. “Your eros,” Victor teasingly announces, lifting a bite from his own plate to Yuuri’s mouth. For a second, Yuuri looks like he’s going to refuse the bite, before he turns red and opens his mouth. Phichit snaps a photo as Victor grins at his happily embarrassed fiancé. “Is it good?” he asks him after Yuuri finishes contently chewing.

With his eyes closed, Yuuri just nods, but the clear bliss on his face is more of an answer. Victor’s smile grows wider and he takes a bite himself. “Vkusno!” he cries, melting.

Yurio watched the whole exchange with a grimace, ignoring the happy tug in his chest. They really were cut-- _disgusting! Disgusting, I was totally gonna finish that thought with disgusting_ , Yurio internally grumbles. “They’re so gross,” he tells Otabek to cement the thought outside of his own head. “They probably call each other like… _sugar baby pumpkin_ or something equally dumb and nausea-inducing.”

Otabek stares at the pair before casting his eyes to Yurio’s. “I think it’s kind of nice,” he admits, before tearing his gaze away from Yurio’s and focusing on eating the food.

“You do?” Yurio whispers, before clearing his throat. “Lame,” he declares, but there’s no heat to his tone.

After another second of silence, Otabek decides to speak. Maybe talking about this type of stuff with Yurio could help him figure the whole situation out. _There’s nothing to figure out_ , Otabek scolds himself, before focusing on the other boy. “They obviously love each other very much. I think it’s cute. Although it can be hard to watch when you don’t have it yourself.” _There_. Otabek thinks. _I said it_. For a second, Yurio seems shocked by his blunt honesty, before recovering.

He lowers his voice so low it's barely audible, before replying, “I understand.” Those two words are maybe the most vulnerable Yurio’s ever been in front of Otabek, and maybe anyone. Not wanting to push him any further, Otabek just nods and the two fall into comfortable silence as they eat the delicious Katsudon with light pink now a constant dust on their cheeks.

“Driiinnnkkk,” Chris sings, leaning towards Yuuri and sliding him a glass. With a surprisingly dramatic sigh, Yuuri downs the rest of his first drink and grabs the second.

“I hope you know I despise you,” Yuuri says to Chris, but his mouth is wobbling into a goofy smile, which is causing Victor’s own smile to glow like a lightbulb.

“It’s because I’m too attractive,” Chris tells Yuuri, sadly shaking his head. “It makes people jealous and then angry. What a pain.”

“But I never get angry with _Victor_ ,” Yuuri points out with a smirk, tilting Victor’s chin up with his index finger. Victor turns a brilliant tomato red, spluttering too much to point out that Yuuri _does_ , in fact, get angry with him.

“Maybe I’m more attractive than Victor?” Chris tries, leaning back to enjoy the show unfolding before him.

“No.” Yuuri states without any particular emotion, taking a slow sip of his bubbly drink.

Chris practically defalates with a quiet, “No hesitation! That was brutal!”

“Yuuriiiiii!” Victor wails, throwing his arms around his shoulders and nuzzling his neck. “You’re too kind to me, my love!”

Yuuri’s smirk widens and he leans closer to Victor. “Oh, you think _this_ is kind? Just wait till later when I--”

“NO MORE ALCOHOL FOR YOU!” Yurio screams from his seat next to Yuuri’s, snatching the glass away so violently that the liquid sloshes over the sides as he practically jumps away in his eagerness to leave the vicinity of Yuuri and Victor’s conversation.

Yuuri pouts but doesn’t really complain, though Chris and Victor make up for that fact themselves. “Give that back!” Victor whines, as Chris gets up to try and grab the glass.

“One peaceful dinner, that’s all this was supposed to be,” Mari says sadly, mirroring her brother from earlier in the night by resting her face on the table. Minako rubs her back consolingly, though she looks almost overjoyed at the chaos. Yurio isn’t positive she’s not the devil in disguise. Meanwhile, Minami is staring wide-eyed at the proceedings and Phichit is still taking a constant stream of photos. Otabek just stares. From looking at his face, one could assume that this was how all his Saturday nights have gone over the years, and he’s just used to it now.

Chris sighs as Yurio dodges his attempts to grab the glass with graceful movements, before saying, “You’re gonna wish you had given that glass back because now I have a new idea,” and disappearing into the other room.

“Uh oh,” Otabek states, before going back to eating his Katsudon calmly. Yurio is not so easily unconcerned, and he stares after Chris wide-eyed.

“Yurio, what have you done,” Yuuri teases with a small laugh, and Yurio shrinks into himself until his shoulders are at his ears like an annoyed cat.

“Freaking old people,” he hisses, but Yuuri and Victor just laugh.

“Ta-daa!” They hear Chris announce loudly from the other room, but no one’s there to see what he’s doing.

“Should we even bother taking a look?” asks Guang Hong nervously.

“Yes!” Mila cries excitedly, already getting to her feet.

“You’re just saying that ‘cause you thrive off of chaos. Are you a demon? Do you feed off it?” Yurio growls from across the table, but Mila just casually flips him off. Yurio bristles, and looks ready to jump over the table before Otabek puts a hand on his shoulder.

“If she does, you’re only helping her,” he points out, and Yurio sinks back into his seat, muttering insults.

“Let’s go see!” Victor says, practically skipping out of the room and dragging Yuuri with him.

“ _This_ will be entertaining!” Mila says brightly, following the two out of the room.

“Is Yuuri drunk?” Minami whispers to Yurio as they leave the room, who just snorts in response.

When they enter the room, there’s immediately one difference with the large foyer area that everyone knows was not there before: there’s a tall stripper pole in the middle of the room.

“You’ve _got_ to be kidding me,” Yurio groans, planting his palm over his face.

“I ordered us a stripper to get the show started!” Chris happily declares, to the mounting horror of almost everyone in the room.

“You did _what_?” Yuuri demands. “There are children here!”

“Eh,” Chris shrugs. “They’ve seen _you_ strip!”

“That’s different,” Yuuri protests hotly, but before the argument can continue, there’s a knock on the door.

“I wonder who that could be,” Chris jokes slowly, walking to the door and hesitating for a second.

“Chris, don’t you dare,” Yuuri warns, but then Chris flings open the door, stepping to the side.

A man with a dark undercut stands in the doorway, leaning on the frame. “It’s JJ style!” he says seductively with a wink, and it only takes half a second of Chris’ blank, shocked, and mildly (it’s not just mildly) horrified look for Chris to recover and slam the door in the other man’s face. They hear a muffled crash outside the door as they all stare with varying degrees of anguish, amusement, and uninterestedness.

After a few more seconds of disbelief, Chris clears his throat. “Well, that was the worst mistake of my life. And that’s saying something,” he states casually, before marching into the middle of the room. “ _Someone_ will just have to take over,” Chris muses, as if to himself, as he swings loosely around the pole.

“Shall it be…” Chris hesitates, scanning the room and tapping his lip. “Yurio?” Yurio and Otabek immediately, blush, causing Chris to grin and say “Drinkkkk!”

“You planned that,” Yuuri grumbles, but downs the drink the Yurio had kept from him earlier and grabs another, not hesitating to swallow that one as well.

Finishing the glass with a flourish, Yuuri steps forwards. “ _I_ can do it!” he says proudly, causing Chris’ grin to stretch impossibly wider.

“Then I’ll DJ,” Chris says, stepping to the side and hooking his phone up to a speaker. So quickly he had to have planned the playlist beforehand, a song starts blasting. _Mmm_ , the song begins, and Yuuri brightens in recognition, _I ain’t tryna_. He grabs the pole and does a small swing, as if getting used to it. Phichit readies his phone camera. _I ain’t tryna, I ain’t tryna_ , and right as the rap starts, Yuuri swings up, legs above him in a straddle as he spins to the cheers of the crowd--minus Yurio, who looks very much like he wants to leave. Victor practically faints on the spot, even though it's barely 6 seconds into the song.

 _I’m clumsy, made friends with the floor_ , the song continues, as Yuuri flips fully upside down and holds a front split. A few people start to dance along to the music as they watch Yuuri spin in and out of complicated moves. _And two left feet you know I always drop_ , Yuuri spins in tight circles with only one hand, _first thing a girl did was bop_ , he latches on with only his crossed legs and lets go with his hands as he continues to spin for half a second before he slides into a new move. “That’s my fiancé!” Victor screams to no one in particular, as everyone already clearly knows this.

 _You ain’t even here to party_ , starts the next verse, and Yuuri miraculously speeds up his fluid choreography. _I don’t wanna row, row row the boat_ , Yuuri hands from his legs upside and winks at Victor, who turns the brightest red anyone has ever seen. _Wrist full of rocks_ , and Yuuri is already spinning away and somehow moving further up the pole.

 _I’m a bitch_ , goes the chorus, and more cheers sound through the large room as Yuuri moves into a complicated split, one foot balancing on the pole as he turns and the other stretching above his head, _I’m a boss_ , he removes his foot and continues spinning in a straddle split, holding his body off the pole using only his arm strength. If Victor hadn’t already been well aware of just how strong Yuuri is, he definitely would be now.

Yuuri speeds up to the beat for, _I wear the hat and I wear the pants, I am advanced so I get advance, and I do my dance and cancel the plans, said, boo, don’t be mad cause you had a chance, drop_ , and right on that last word, Yuuri drops almost to the floor--to the gasp of the crowd--before gracefully catching himself and moving into a ridiculously rapid spin as the beat picks up on _said, I took it and I ran for it._

“Yuuri!” Victor calls over the music, “You’re gonna kill me!” though Victor doesn’t know whether he’s referring to the heart-stopping almost-fall or the complicated yet fluid motions. _Said, I took it and I ran for it_ , the line repeats, as Yuuri perfectly copies every move he did for the first part of the verse.

 _I’m a bitch and a boss, I’ma shine like gloss, Rrr, ah, ah, ah_ , and Yuuri slows to a stop, breathing heavily but still hanging onto the pole. The crowd bursts into applause, but Yuuri doesn’t get down. When the beat starts picking up once more, gaining momentum as Yuuri stays still, the guests start to suspect that the show is not quite over. After all, Yuuri is known for his stamina, so it’s unlikely that he’s already tired. Just as suspected, as the beat drops Yuuri continues into his spins, his grin lighting up his flushed cheeks. He moves upside down and rightside up almost interchangeably in a blur before finally slowing to another stop as the song fades out.

Hair a total mess from his acrobatics, Yuuri hops down to the floor. His feet have barely found the ground when Victor launches into his arms. “Yuuurriiii!” he practically shouts, “You’re so amazing!”

Yuuri just grins a sly grin, one hand on Victor’s hip, and Victor swears drunk Yuuri will be the death of him. “Shows not over yet,” Chris warns, and turns on the next song. A cheer goes up so loud that it momentarily drowns out the loud, booming bass of the music as everyone instantly recognizes the heavy beat.

“I swear to God,” Victor whispers, now one hundred percent certain he will not make it through the night.

But he’s ripped from his thoughts as Yuuri spins up onto the pole once more as the bass gets even louder with a gleeful laugh, and a “You planned this playlist ahead of time, didn’t you, Chris?” How he’s able to speak coherently while drunk and pole dancing, Victor has no idea. Yuuri seems so energetic that he may as well have not just done ridiculously difficult and taxing moves for a whole two minutes beforehand.

“Maybe,” Chris replies, drawing out the word for so long that it becomes an obvious yes. “Just you wait, though,” he continues, and Victor wonders which song he will possibly play next. He doesn’t know whether to be excited or nervous.

The beat slows down for a second and Yuuri stills before moving his hips as the lyrics start with a _Yeah nuga nae sujeo deoreopdae, I don’t care maikeu jabeum geumsujeo yeoreot pae_. The people who know the lyrics--and, subsequently, Korean--well enough to try and sing along do so loudly, though most just begin to dance. When Otabek catches Yurio bopping his head and gives him a small look, Yurio whips his head away. “This song sucks,” he says, to emphasize _just how much_ he _wasn’t_ moving to the beat.

“Hmm,” is all Otabek replies with, before tacking on a quiet, “I bet you could dance very well to this song. Or even skate. It would be fun to see you do it in a similar style to Welcome to The Madness.”

For a second, Yurio is silent, before saying, “I guess you’re right. I _am_ a brilliant dancer, after all. Much better than the pig,” and stomping angrily to the front of the room to dance almost alongside Yuuri in a silent challenge.

As J-Hope sings the words _world business_ , Yurio jumps from standing into a smooth version of the worm. When Yuuri catches onto the fact that Yurio is dancing next to him half a second later, he seems to gain even more energy, hooking one leg around the pole and dangling upside down.

Verse two starts with _mic mic bungee_ , and Yurio does a rapid version of the coffee grinder as Yuuri slides down the pole, continuing to turn only from his leg. Victor starts to get nervous that he’s going to make a mistake and fall on his face. It turns out this is a baseless fear, as Yuuri is able to calmly move into a front split, keeping the pole trapped between his body and leg. The room is starting to feel a lot warmer, but maybe that’s just Victor. _Daesinhaejwo niga moshan hyodo_ the verse continues, and both boys continue dancing--Yurio doing complicated hip hop moves (he’s now doing some version of a headstand) while Yuuri spins around the pole in and out of different splits.

 _Did you see my bag? (where?) Did you see my bag? (where?)_ begins the pre-chorus, and the floor shakes as the skaters jump to the music excitedly. _Come and follow me, follow me with your signs up_ , and the pace of the two main dancers quickens with the words. As the last line of the pre-chorus plays, Yuuri slows for the third time, mouthing the last _how you dare?_ to Victor with a grin, before holding his body fully extended from the pole and spinning at _Another trophy, my hands carry ‘em_. His hips move slowly as the title of the song is sang, before moving dizzyingly upside down for _Somebody stop me, I’m boutta pop off_. With a competitive growl, Yurio marches forwards and pulls Otabek towards the front, who is trying to dig his heels into the ground, unsure of what’s about to happen.

“Yurio?” Otabek asks in practically a squeak, the noticeable change in his voice illustrating his anticipation.

“Grab my waist!” Yurio demands, and Otabek’s hands move before he can question or stop them at Yurio’s tone. Yurio dips back dramatically, one arm reaching above his head, before he bends his back far enough that his hand is close to the floor. Otabek doesn’t even have time to blink as Yurio forcefully kicks off the floor, moving in a sort-of-backflip so that his hand touches the floor and he uses it to push off, spinning around the arm on his waist and landing a few feet from where he started. He grins as he notices impressed looks, and he stalks back to a stunned Otabek to continue dancing.

“I can’t dance,” Otabek says as someone hoots from the crowd.

Yurio scoffs. “No figure skater can’t dance. You’re just too chicken.” He grins at him, leaning forwards a little, and Otabek has to take up an internal mantra of _don’t kiss him, don’t kiss him, don’t kiss him_. This quickly turns into _don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic_ , as Yurio moves around him, moving his hips and arms to the beat of the song, the words having faded momentarily for the middle section of Mic Drop. Half in an effort to distract himself from Yurio’s much-too-close dancing and half because it seems almost fun, Otabek starts to slightly move to the music. Yurio’s face lights up, and he grabs his hand, twirling him in a teasing spin. “See? Not so hard,” he says once Otabek is facing him once more.

“Baby, watch your mouth,” Yurio sings, his eyes still locked on Otabek’s in a way that makes his mouth dry, and Otabek swears this Yurio will be the death of him. Moving his upper body in slow circles, hands on Otabek’s shoulders, Yurio continues absentmindedly singing the song under his breath. Otabek thinks that Yurio isn’t even fully aware of what he’s doing at this point.

 _Did you see my bag? (where?)_ and Yurio gets even closer. Otabek wants to take a step backwards, but his lack of self-control combined with his fear of seeming rude stops him. He _really_ shouldn’t be doing this, he thinks, but Yurio was the one who started it. _He wouldn’t have if he knew you liked him_ , Otabek tells himself, but his inner voice doesn’t sound as loud when Yurio is dancing like _that_ and singing along to _Come on follow me, follow me with your signs up_. A cheesy part of Otabek wants to tell Yurio he’d follow him anywhere.

When Yuuri catches sight of Yurio and Otabek dancing, for the first time all night he almost genuinely falls off the pole. He lets out a small hoot of happiness, before hopping down and grabbing Victor’s wrist, pulling him forwards.

“They have the right idea!” he shouts over the music, resting his forearms loosely over Victor’s shoulders as Victor instinctively grabs his hips. The guests catch on and quickly partner up, though a few dance in small groups and Chris moves on to the now vacant pole.

“How you dare, how you dare, how you dare!” almost the entire room shouts, and there’s a second of tense stillness, before the beat drops once more. Yuuri spins around so he’s no longer facing Victor as he dances with his hips tantalizingly close to his fiancé and lifts his hands in the air. Yurio tightens his arms around Otabek’s neck and smirks devilishly as he moves even closer. Minako’s ballerina skills are nowhere to be seen as she fully grinds on a now seemingly deceased Mari, Yuuko and Takeshi dance romantically as if they’re waltzing to classical music and not a song that could be played in a club, Mila dances happily with an excited Minami, Guang Hong blushes as he dances with a slightly nervous looking but still pumped Leo, and Emil, Michele, and Sara jump to the music in a small group. What’s the most surprising though, is that Seung-gil is no longer standing judgmentally in the corner, but is moving with an _almost_ smile and a definite blush as Phichit spins around him, flirtatiously winking and biting his lip.

“Somebody stop me! I’m boutta pop off!” the room screams, the beat echoing. Yuuri faces forwards, standing on his toes and tilting an enchanted Victor’s chin up with a finger as he dances. Yurio’s eyes haven’t left Otabek’s since his flip, and either Otabek is going crazy or their mouths have been moving steadily closer, centimeter by centimeter, throughout the entire chorus. Seung-gil is now properly dancing, and Emil, Michele, and Sara are jumping so forcefully that it wouldn’t be surprising if the wooden floor were to break. Minami spins into a one-armed handstand, and everyone cheers while Yuuri calls out, “Wow, Minami!” causing him to fall over and turn as red as the streak in his hair. Mila laughs and slaps him on the back as he gets to his feet, quickly bouncing back. Minako slides onto the floor in a front split, staring at Mari, before transitioning into a straddle with her front pressed against the floor, from which she kicks off and does the worm. Mari puts her hand on her forehead as if disappointed, but her smile gives her away, as does the look in her eyes.

With every quiet dip in the beat of the song, when it comes back full force the dancers seem to somehow gain even more energy.

When the outro starts with _deo bol il eopseo majimak insaya_ , everyone moves a bit slower. Yuuri and Victor look at each other lovingly, moving closer until their foreheads rest on one another. Yurio and Otabek are now so close that they can feel each other's breath, but neither is moving away. Minako gets off the floor and starts to do graceful twirls, while nothing about Yuuko and Takeshi’s dancing changes. Mila tries to copy Minako to the best of her ability--though the complicated ballet is no easy feat--and Minami continues dancing with the same energy as before despite the beat change. Seung-gil has his arms on Phichit’s waist, who is whispering something in his ear. Chris is still dancing overly-sexually on the pole, to the surprise of absolutely no one, and the jumping trio has their arms around each other as they sway dramatically.

As the outro fades into the bass, the dancing from earlier resumes--though with somehow even more grinding and some fancy footwork from Yuuri--but when the last few notes play, everyone slowly falls back into reality. As if released from a spell, everyone comes down off the high of the song, catching their breaths. Otabek and Yurio freeze, their mouths barely an inch apart, before they spring apart as if electrocuted. “Um,” Otabek mutters, unsure what he’ll say next.

But he’s saved from having to continue as Yurio says, “What?” aggressively and marches away. Otabek stares after him, hurt but trying to pretend he’s not. What did he think would happen? It’s not like Yurio could ever like him. And obviously he doesn’t, judging by his outraged reaction. Otabek sighs, feeling beyond stupid and a more than a little hopeless. He never should have let Yurio pull him into dancing.

Seung-gil and Phichit stand next to each other calmly--Phichit probably already posting on his instagram--as if they weren’t just dancing together in a way that makes a watchful Yuuri think the two of them together is nothing new. But he stops trying to analyse their relationship when he sees Otabek standing alone, staring off in a seemingly random direction and looking lost.

“You okay?” Yuuri asks Otabek cautiously, guessing that the dancing was too much for Yurio, who is going to be nervous of getting hurt and therefore pretend he doesn’t care.

After a second, Otabek’s eyes snap to Yuuri’s, before he glances away casually. “Of course,” he responds in his gravelly voice.

Yuuri sighs, realizing he’s going to have to do more work to help these two than he originally suspected. “Yurio really cares about you, you know,” he starts, and Otabek’s head whips around to face him, eyes wide. “He’s just afraid of getting hurt. He doesn’t want to care about you more than you care about him.”

“But he doesn’t,” Otabek says without thinking, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“ _I_ know that,” Yuuri responds, “but _he_ doesn’t. I would be upfront. It’s clear he likes you, he just needs _you_ to go to _him_. He’s too insecure to seek you out on his own.”

Otabek wants to laugh, annoyed he got his hopes up once more. “Yurio isn’t insecure.”

Yuuri tilts his head. “That’s what he wants people to think. He’s far more insecure than he lets on.”

Otabek is silent for a moment, weighing his options. Yuuri knows Yurio well, but if he’s wrong, it could destroy their friendship. And he is happy with Yurio as his friend. He really is. But it’s starting to become a bit painful, a bit tense. _Things are already weird, might as well go for it_ , Otabek thinks, before looking at Yuuri once more.

“Fine, okay,” he says determinedly. He hesitates for one more second before saying a quiet, “Thank you very much,” and then walking off.

“That was good of you,” Victor says, making Yuuri jump and spin around to face him.

“Well,” he laughs, scratching the back of his neck, “It was painful seeing them flounder like that.”

“I wonder if that’s how everyone else felt about us,” Victor muses, looking up at the ceiling in thought and tapping his lip.

Yuuri laughs. “Probably.” But before either of them can say anything else, there’s a loud splash from outside. The two glance around to find that everyone else has left the room, and they send nervous looks to one another.

“Let’s hope nobody is drowning,” Yuuri giggles as the two of them walk quickly to the front door. Throwing it open, they find that the pool lights have been turned on, washing the surrounding stone in a pale blue. After a quick survey, they find Chris in the pool, soaking wet, evidently having just been the one to jump in. His clothes float around him in almost eerie movements, like a bizarre jellyfish.

Minami is hopping on the diving board, and lets out a quick shout before diving in a large arc into the pool, hitting the water loudly and sending small waves over the pool’s edge. Yuuri laughs happily, grabbing Victor’s arm. “Let’s jump in!” he shouts, hopping on the balls of his feet. Before Victor can try and talk him out of jumping fully clothed into a pool, Yuuri is running with a loud shout of, “Canon ball!” and curling up as he hits the water.

Shaking his head with a fond smile, Victor runs to the pool's edge as Yuuri pulls himself out of it, water streaming off him in rivulets. He runs his hand through his wet hair, slicking it back unintentionally in one of Victor’s favorite styles. While Victor studies him, Yuuri walks next to him. “Hey Victor,” he whispers near his ear, leaning in.

“Yes?” Victor asks breathlessly.

“Shoulda watched out,” he says. And before Victor can ask what the hell that means, he’s being pushed into the water. He splashes under the surface with a disorienting spin, before gasping as he reaches the surface.

“My _hair_!” he whines, trying to tidy it fruitlessly with his hands.

Yuuri just laughs. “You look great, as always, Vitya,” he says before jumping in and landing dangerously close to Victor.

“Let’s play some _music_!” Chris yells, sliding out of the pool to grab his phone and hit play on the next song on his playlist. At first, Yuuri thinks Chris’ played the wrong video--he wouldn’t be surprised--as a chorus of moans reaches his ears, but when he hears Megan Thee Stallion say, “Real hot girl shit, ah,” Yuuri laughs.

“I really connect with Megan Thee Stallion. My body is also crazy, curvy, and wavy,” Victor muses, much to the amusement of Yuuri, as Minami starts singing “Body-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody Ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody-ody.”

Yuuri grins as he sends a small splash towards Victor with a thoughtful, “I hope Otabek and Yurio are having as much fun as us right now.”

They aren’t.

Otabek is searching frustratedly for his friend, marching through hallways and peaking through doorways. He’s about to try and hopelessly scream Yurio’s name until he gets a response, before he notices something. While normally an open window in a bedroom wouldn’t be anything particularly noticeable, it catches Otabek’s eye. It just screams Yurio-is-having-a-tantrum-and-he’s-an-over-dramatic-little-shit-so-he-climbed-onto-a-roof.

With an exasperated huff of breath, Otabek walks forwards, leaning out the window. Casting a nervous glance towards the ground two floors below, Otabek twists to look upwards. If he stands on the window ledge, reaching up and grabbing the roof to pull himself up doesn’t seem too difficult. That is, not too difficult if you’re a goddamn cat, like a certain someone Otabek knows. But quite difficult when you’re _Otabek_.

Still, taking a deep breath to steady himself, Otabek moves onto the ledge, holding onto the roof tiles with an iron grip. After only a brief moment of panic, some huffing and puffing, and a ridiculous looking stretch, Otabek is on his back, staring up at the bright starts above him.

“Beka?” a familiar voice calls from somewhere to his left, and Otabek rolls over and sits up, some feet away from a surprised Yurio.

“Yura,” Otabek nods, as if he hadn’t just put his life in danger struggling to drag himself over the edge of a roof. Yurio is sitting near the edge farthest from Otabek, looking out over trees and the night sky.

“What… are you doing?” he sounds amused, which Otabek takes to be a good sign, but something in his expression says the trouble isn’t over yet.

“Casually climbing onto a roof, of course,” Otabek says in a rare joke, and Yurio cracks him a smile that has Otabek practically melting.

“I don’t know _what_ part of that you’d call casual,” he teases, before turning back around to face the scenery. Otabek is immediately struck by how much he misses his smile. Shaking his head to distract himself from his thoughts, he moves forwards until he’s sitting next to Yurio.

“You have a very nice smile,” he tells him, once again not really thinking. It’s late, he’s tired, and Yurio just looks so… _adorable_.

Yura turns to stare at him, the tips of his ears turning bright red, before it spreads down his face all the way to his neck. “And I like that you act so tough but blush every time I compliment you,” Otabek continues, serious but also slightly teasing.

“I do _not_!” Yurio cries.

“You definitely do?”

“You’re--you--ugh--you’re so _annoying_!” Yurio grinds out after searching for the words, before yanking on the collar of Otabek’s shirt before he can even register what’s happening, and pulling him into a light but somehow aggressive kiss. It only lasts for a few seconds, but in that time Otabek swears he’s going to have a heart attack. Or fall off the roof. Or both.

Before he can lean in further, Yurio is shoving him back and turning his head away, seeming mortified. “Yura,” Otabek whispers, trying to get his attention. When Yurio ignores him, he gently moves his hand to the side of Yurio’s face, turning it towards himself. “Yura… When we first met, I said you had the eyes of a soldier. Remember?” Yurio’s nod is barely noticeable, even under Otabek’s fingers. “What I really meant was that you had the most gorgeous, strongest eyes I’ve ever seen in my life, and if I could look at them all day every day it still wouldn’t be enou--”

“BODY CRAZY, CURVY, WAVY, BIG TITTIES LIL’ WAIST!” Chris, Victor, and Yuuri chorus loudly from below them, effectively interrupting Otabek.

“HEY!” Yurio screams, so loudly Otabek swears birds scatter throughout the trees. “SHUT THE FUCK UP, WE’RE TRYING TO HAVE A MOMENT HERE!” The pool goes dead silent, only the quiet _Look at how I bodied that, ate it up and gave it back_ continuing to sound. Yurio groans, before turning a grin to Otabek. “Please continue complimenting my eyes,” he laughs, but there seems to be more truth behind his words than he’s letting on.

“Basically,” Otabek states, “You’re gorgeous, and I want to see you all the time. And I like you. Very much.”

“I like me very much too,” Yurio says with a smirk, but there’s genuine happiness underneath his words, and he leans forwards and gives Otabek a second kiss, this one much more gently and slow and lovely.

“Our little boy is all grown up!” Yurio hears a voice lament behind him, and turns rapidly to see Victor wiping tears from his face as he climbs onto the roof. Yurio’s own face turns bright red, and he leans back from Otabek so quickly he almost falls off the roof, catching his breath and trying to make sense of everything that has happened.

Otabek likes him. _Otabek_. _Likes_. _Him_. He still can’t believe it. He keeps casting glances towards the older boy, only to see him give small smiles in return, and Yurio thinks if he sees one more he might do something stupid like tell him just how much he means to him. Maybe his eyes have already said everything for him, though.

“Shh, you interrupted their moment!” Yuuri scolds quietly, far too late.

“Sorry,” Victor whispers, as if that will make up for it and his quiet voice will allow Yurio and Otabek to just forget he’s there.

A soaking wet Yuuri stands and walks towards them, kneeling behind them and putting a hand on each of their shoulders. “I’m glad everything worked out, I was rooting for you.” He quietly adds what sounds like, “And I won that bet,” but Otabek is sure he must have misheard.

“Thank you,” Otabek tells him, and tries to put every bit of feeling into his words that he can, because without Yuuri, he’s not sure just what would have happened.

Yuuri nods with a gentle smile, before playfully ruffling Yurio’s hair. “Always use protection, be safe,” he says gravely, and Yurio looks like he’s about to implode while Otabek considers launching himself off the rooftop. Before either of the two younger boys can reply, Victor is standing behind Yuuri, pointing excitedly forwards.

“Look!” he cries, hands moving to squeeze Yuuri’s shoulders. The early morning sunrise is just peaking over the clouds, painting the sky in a brilliant display of orange and pink. It washes over the trees, the house, and the four boys sitting awe-struck on the tiled roof. “Wow,” Victor whispers as the clouds move slowly across the colorful sky like a paintbrush. “It’s beautiful. Just like you, sugar baby pumpkin,” Victor says, gazing into Yuuri’s eyes with a smile so loving it’s almost physically painful to Yurio.

“Ya tebya lyublyu,” Yuuri says in Russian, grabbing Victor’s hand, who is blushing with a shocked look on his face, like he can’t quite believe just how lucky he is.

“Ew!” Yurio faux-gags, pretending to throw up over the side of the roof. “I knew you guys would use dumb petnames like that! I called it!” But though he will never admit it, seeing them so in love gives him hope for himself, and for humanity in general. Without them, his world would seem a lot darker. It wouldn’t be dyed in sunrise like it is now. Otabek chuckles at their antics next to him, moving a casual arm around Yurio’s shoulders like it’s natural, and Yurio leans into his side.

The four of them continue to sit and watch the sunrise, when Yuuri suddenly shouts, “Chris, since I won the bet, tell us all how there’s no place you’d rather be right now than here with these lovely people at this lovely house with this lovely sunrise.”

“THERE IS NO PLACE I’D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW THAN HERE WITH THESE LOVELY PEOPLE AT THIS LOVELY HOUSE WITH THIS LOVELY SUNRISE,” Chris calls, planting his feet wide and cupping his hands on either side of his mouth, not hesitating in the slightest since he expected to lose.

And as Yuuri wraps Victor, Yurio, and Otabek in a tight embrace--and Victor blushes, and Yurio gags, and Otabek doesn't move a muscle--he knows with complete, one hundred percent certainty that each and every one of them agrees.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading about these adorable idiots! I hope you enjoyed the crackhead disaster that was this fic! :)
> 
> Oh p.s. I was a bit loosely inspired for the pole dancing scene by a fic titled Toss To Me! <3


End file.
